Pat Sullivan / AP Photo
Former President George H.W. Bush threw his support behind Mitt Romney, an old family friend, on Thursday—but he stopped short of giving an official endorsement. Bush called Romney “a fine person” and said the former Massachusetts governor is “mature and responsible—not a bomb thrower.” While Bush wouldn’t speculate on any “bomb throwers” in the race, he did admit to a “conflict” with Newt Gingrich, recalling an incident when the former congressman was supposed to appear at a Rose Garden press conference when Bush had to renege on the “no new taxes” pledge, but instead Gingrich went to Capitol Hill to lobby against the president’s bill. Bush admitted he liked his fellow Texan, Rick Perry, but said Perry didn’t “seem to be going anywhere; he’s not surging forward.”